Sevusal

close to 3 months. this was back in Oct'14 when i got my approval. my advise, don't do this. you will be better off going to Canada or Mexico and get visa faster.

Sevusal

I am guessing that you are changing employer and will get a new E3 visa. if so, you will need to have your wife travel with you. As soon as you will get your new E3 visa, your existing E3 visa is invalid and so is your wife's E3D.

again this is my understanding but i could be wrong and would love to be wrong in this case because i am in middle of changing the employer as well.

Sevusal

any reason you have booked an appointment with Ottawa consulate and not Vancouver since you live on West coast?

i am curious because i live in LA and in middle of changing my job and will need to get out of the country to get new E3 visa.

docnetau

I'm going to guess it's because Ottawa generally has appointments available with a relatively short wait (days or at most weeks), where Vancouver can be months out if it's available at all.

Sevusal

really? as per the official processing time web-site, it says 6 days!
Visa Appointment & Processing Wait Times

docnetau

As of a year or two ago Canadian US consulates have different wait times for Canadian citizens/residents and others. The times above are for Canadian residents. For non-Canadian residents the wait time will be very different.

Sevusal

oooh ok! good to know. i guess the only way to find out is to actually go through the application process.

docnetau

Yes. You can find out the available dates before you pay.

hnorris

Hello

I'm back with another question!

This might sound naive but I think i'm getting confused with the terminology of 'renewing' and 'initial application'. Do these terms relate to E3 in the general sense or the specific E3 with the employer. I'm on an E3 currently and am about to now head to Canada for my 2nd E3 with a new employer. I'm applying for a new E3 rather than transferring my one now as my current only has a couple of month left and it seemed like the better option.

So am I renewing or do I have an initial application?

The other question I had was If anyone has any experience with timing in Calgary? My appointment is on Tuesday 8am - is it likely I'll have my passport back by Friday morning?

Thanks!

docnetau

You are applying for a new E3, and will be given an E3.

If you were still with the same employer then you would be applying for a renewal, and would be given an E3R.

Functionally the two are exactly the same - the only two differences are the designation on the actual visa ("E3" v's "E3R"), and the fact that the E3R's do not count against the cap of maximum E3's that can be issued every year.

hnorris

Thanks so much for the info. I didn't even realize renewals were E3R. Makes sense now!

kaimmy

Hi all,

I found this thread extremely helpful when i was going through my e3 application thank you. I have a question for a friend who is trying to apply for a new e3 (change of employer) in Canada. It is telling him there is no available appointments anywhere in Canada as they are changing the system. Does anyone know anything about this???

melbboy

No appointments at Vancouver and Toronto next few months when I checked a week ago. But there are appointments in ottawa etc. You can call the council and inquiry about Appointments too. They also ask you to keep checking the system on line for upto date cancel appointments. Once you have DS 160 application number you can schedule an appointment. Make sure you fill the correct location you intend to apply for the visa. Otherwise you need a new DS 160 to fill or upload the savwd file and start it again. I would start DS 160 and use the omb control number in order to schedule the appointment. Apparently Vancouver and Toronto has higher priority appointments only for Canadian citizens. I am not a lawyer. Just sharing my thoughts.

kaimmy

Thanks for your reply. He did complete his ds160 and was actually trying to get in at Ottawa and it said nothing available at all!

docnetau

Ottawa is currently showing a next available appointment date of March 16th. All other Canada consulates are showing "No Appointments Available" (for non-Canadian residents)